Method of reshaping collars and analogous articles.



L. V. ESTES & W. FORWARD. RESHAPI'NG COLLARS AND ANALoGoUs ARTICLEMETHOD or' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1909.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

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L. V. ESTES & W. FORWARD. METHOD 0F RBSHAPING COLLARS AND ANALoGoUsARTICLES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1909.

.9669435 Y Patented Aug. 9, 14910.

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UNITED STATES ATEN FICE LORING V. ESTES AND WILLIAM FORWARD, OF TROY,NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO CLUETT, PEABODY & COMPANY, 0F TROY, NEW YORK, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD 0F YIIELESI-IAPING COLLARS AND ANALOGOUS ARTICLES. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

Application filed June 5, 1909. Serial No. 500,277.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LoRING V. ESTES and VILLIAM FORWARD, both citizensof the United States, and residents of Troy, in the county of Rensselaerand State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inMethods of Reshaping Collars and Analogous Articles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of such articles as collars andparticularly to the manufacture of turn-down collars which require morecareful shaping than other kindred articles in order to be sent to theconsumer in perfect condition.

Our invention consists in a method of reshaping finished articles ofthis character and is particularly addressed to the re-formation ofcollars after they have been submitted to their final inspection at thefactory.

At present the last operation in the manufacture of collars is thelaundrying during which the collars are starched, ironed and shaped; itis necessary, however, to submit the collars to inspection after thelaundrying operation in order to discover such defects as may existwhich were not detected by any previous -inspection after earlier stagesin the manufacture. The laundrying operation occasionally develops andmakes apparent defects which previously have been concealed, and also,some defects in the finished article are occasionally produced in thelaundrying operation. In the case of such articles as turn-down collars,this final inspection of the finished goods which are as a rule, tiedtogether in bundles of a dozen each, necessitates the opening of thefolds of the collars by the inspector.

This handling distorts the collars more or` less from the correct shapepreviously given to them in the laundry, and therefore, deteriorates theappearance of the goods and interferes with the proper fitting thereofon the first occasion of wear by the user. The defects caused by finalinspection are, it is true, superficial and temporary for the reasonthat the first time the collar is laundried after being worn, skilfullaundrying will restore it to the correct shape which was given to itoriginally by the manufacturers laundry. Nevertheless, it is desirablefrom the point of view not only of the use, but

also of the retailer to whom attractiveness in articles for sale is adesideratum, that the distortions from correct shape occasioned by thenecessary final inspection of the goods shall be corrected.

The object of our method herein described is to restore finished collarsand the like to their proper shape after they have been distorted by thefinal inspection, withoutnecessitating the repetition of any of themanufacturing processes, including laundrying, through which thearticles have already passed and which, indeed, if repeated, wouldnecessitate still further inspection and be therefore useless toaccomplish our purpose.

IVe are aware that the shaping of collars in the laundry is an old andwell known step in the finishing process, but so far as we are informed,the shaping heretofore has involved the heating and drying of thecollars which when confined in the desired shape are moist eitherthroughout their body or structure or else in such portions, such as thefolds or turns, where the shaping operation has the greatest effect.Thus, the laundry shaping of the collars and the like has heretoforeinvolved the preliminary moistening and subsequent drying of the articlewhich is held or conned in proper shape until the drying is complete.

Remoistening and re-shaping of finished collars after final inspectionwould hardly be a practicable method of correcting the distortions dueto inspection. IVe have discovered however, that if such a finishedarticle as a collar has been distorted as by inspection and lit is thentightly rolled and held either alone or in a roll with other articles ofthe same nature, and is then, although dry, subjected for a sufficienttime to dry heat, the effect of the confinement and heat so remolds thestarch incorporated with the fabric that the collar or similar articlewill emerge from this treatment correctly reshaped and in the sameperfect condition as to shape as when it came from the laundry.Furthermore, such treatment by dry heat and confinement will improve thecondition and finish of collars and the like, especially in. theirappearance in parcels or bundles such as are ordinarily exposed forsale.

In order fully to describe our improved method and means forefiicientlycarrying it out, we show in the accompanying drawings anapparatus whereby our improved method may be practiced. This apparatusis shown and described in an application for Letters Patent filedconcurrently herewithy by us Serial No. 500276 and the invention andimprovements incorporated therein are reserved for claim in the saidapplication.

In these accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinalsection of a heating apparatus; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation viewedfrom the right side of Fig. 1, partially broken away, to disclose theinterior arrangements.

The apparatus illustrated in these drawings consists of a cylindricalshell A which is composed preferably of good heat insulating material,the said shell being segmental in form terminating at c and a2 as seenin Fig. 2. Inside the shell A the carrier B is mounted. This carrier iscylindrical in form and has its inner Walls preferably constructed ofgood heat insulating material, this cylindrical inner portion beingsupported at its ends by the spider rings C. Upon the outer peripheralportions of these spider rings the ianges I), Z), are formed, theseflanges being apertured at Z13 and b2. Radial partitions H are securedat their ends to the flanges b, b and serve to divide the carrier into asuitable number of peripheral compartments; the apertures b2 3 arelocated in the a'nges at the ends of these compartments. We provide alsogates J which are pivoted at J at or near the outer edges of the radialpartitions I-I; these gates are so proportioned and placed that, whenclosed they pass just within the inner surface of the segmental shell A.Closure of these gates is accomplished by the mechanism illustrated inFig. 2; pivoted latches I are mounted around the inner periphery of thecarrier upon pivots I and are secured to the gates J by flexibleconnections such as the chains j. A stop K is secured to a stationaryportion of the apparatus, to wit, the outside of the segmental hot airhead F. The location of this stop is shown in Fig. 2. The rotation ofthe carrier B is occasioned by the shaft D which is keyed to the spiderrings C and to the worm wheel D; the latter is slowly rotated by meansof the worm D2, which may derive movement from any suitable source. Thehot air heads F, F constitute preferably part of the casting of thestationary frame and are secured to the standards E, E and extend aroundthe ends of the apparatus so as to deliver and remove air from thecompartments in the periphery of the carrier. Air is introduced into theapparatus through the conduit F2 and escapes through a similar conduitF3.

For the proper confinement and re-shaping of such articles as collars bythe above described apparatus, we provide a suitable number of metalrings G. These rings can easily be rolled into any one of thecompartments in the carrier through the aperture between the edges a, a2of the segmental shell when the gates J arevopen and can as easily rollout of the said compartments when released by the opening of the gates.For the proper introduction and removal of the holders Gr, I provide aninclined shelf M and a lower shelf N.

An operation of the above described apparatus is as follows: After finalinspection, collars, usually tied in bundles of a dozen each, aretightly rolled and a bunch inserted in each of the holders G which areof such proportions as to retain the bunch of collars in its rolledcondition. The movement of the carrier B brings its compartmentssuccessively abreast of the aperture in the shell A, each compartmentmoving from the edge at to the edge a2 of said shell. As one o-f theopen gates J approaches the lower edge of the shelf M, a number ofholders Gr each containing a roll or bunch of collars is allowed to rolldown the shelf over the gate J and into the compartment. As the carriercontinues its movement, the latch I strikes the stop K and is depressedthereby, drawing the chain J and closing the gate J which then passesunder the edge a? of the shell. Meanwhile dry hot air is blown throughthe apparat-us from the aperture F 2 to the aperture F3 passing from thehot air heads F, F through all of the compartments in the carrier whichare, for the time being covered by the shell A. As each compartmentemerges past the edge a of the shell A the gate J falls o-pen of its ownl weight, being assisted to do so by the weight of the holders G, andthe holders lroll down upon the shelf when the reshaped collars can beremoved and put in their boxes. Thus, by the operation of the abovedescribed apparatus our method of reshaping finished collars bsubmitting them while dry and in a con ning holder to dry heat, may beadvantageously performed.

W'hat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The herein described method of reshaping laundried collars and analogousarticles in a dry state, which consists in rolling said collars in aconstrained position, confining them immovably in such position, andthen subjecting them while so confined and immovable to dry heat for apredetermined length of time to cause the starch in said collars toreset.

Signed by us at Troy, New York, this twenty-fourth day of May 1909.

LORING V. ESTES. WILLIAM FORWARD. Witnesses:

KATHERINE A. CARRALL, CHARLES M. HoR'roN.

